Watermark Student Success & Engagement vs Ellucian Smart Plan

Watermark Student Success & Engagement8.4Visit Ellucian Smart Plan8.1Visit

Higher score Watermark Student Success & Engagement #3 in Academic Advising Software 8.4/10 Pricing on request ✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Watermark

vs

Ellucian Smart Plan #5 in Academic Advising Software 8.1/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 5 features Visit Ellucian

• Watermark Student Success & Engagement fits best

  Institutions needing mobile student success tools

• Ellucian Smart Plan fits best

  Ellucian institutions needing deep planning

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Side by side

Feature	Watermark Student Success & Engagement 8.4/10 Visit ↗	Ellucian Smart Plan 8.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.4	8.1
Ranking	#3 in Academic Advising Software	#5 in Academic Advising Software
Best for	Institutions needing mobile student success tools	Ellucian institutions needing deep planning
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	Pricing on request
Free plan	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud
Integrations	11 integrations	2 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Watermark Student Success & Engagement 4/5 · Ellucian Smart Plan 3/5
Degree audit	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Degree planning	✓	✓
Early alerts	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Intervention workflows	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Student planning portal	✓	✓
Specs
Mobile access	Mobile	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Combines alerts, interventions, advising records, pathways, and planning Native iOS and Android student app available as an add-on module Integrates with major SIS, LMS, calendar, survey, and analytics tools	Personalizes and updates term-by-term plans as circumstances change Supports what-if analysis for programs, schedules, cost, and completion timing Connects planning with direct registration and Ellucian systems
Cons	Pricing requires institutional quotes rather than published plan rates Academic Planning is an add-on module with subscription-dependent availability Degree auditing is not part of the documented positioning	Pricing requires a contact-sales process Evaluation begins with a scheduled demo rather than a self-serve trial Its focus is academic planning and registration rather than broader advising workflows
Our verdict	Watermark Student Success & Engagement brings advising, early alerts, engagement tracking, predictive risk indicators, intervention management, reporting, and student communication into one higher-education platform. It is designed for… Read the review →	Ellucian Smart Plan is an academic planning and registration solution for colleges and universities. It uses academic history, program requirements, prerequisites, institutional policies, and course availability to create personalized,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Watermark Student Success & Engagement — where it wins

  • Combines alerts, interventions, advising records, pathways, and planning
  • Native iOS and Android student app available as an add-on module
  • Integrates with major SIS, LMS, calendar, survey, and analytics tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires institutional quotes rather than published plan rates
  • Academic Planning is an add-on module with subscription-dependent availability
  • Degree auditing is not part of the documented positioning

• Ellucian Smart Plan — where it wins

  • Personalizes and updates term-by-term plans as circumstances change
  • Supports what-if analysis for programs, schedules, cost, and completion timing
  • Connects planning with direct registration and Ellucian systems

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires a contact-sales process
  • Evaluation begins with a scheduled demo rather than a self-serve trial
  • Its focus is academic planning and registration rather than broader advising workflows

• Watermark Student Success & Engagement8.4/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad advising and engagement suite for institutions prioritizing mobile student support.

  Visit WatermarkFull verdict →
• Ellucian Smart Plan8.1/10 · Pricing on request

  A deep planning solution for Ellucian institutions managing complex student pathways.

  Visit EllucianFull verdict →